Pune: The Maharashtra government’s Cooperative Department issued a government resolution on April 18, 2022, to create a new panel of 50 Managing Directors for the state’s cooperative sugar factories. In line with this, the state’s Sugar Commissionerate released a detailed circular on May 31, 2022. Given the crucial role of executive directors in effectively managing the sugar industry, then Sugar Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad decided to implement major reforms in the panel examination process.
For the first time, the selection process was divided into three stages: a preliminary screening test, a written examination, and an oral interview. The preliminary test was conducted on April 5, 2024, followed by the written exam on May 4, 2024. Candidates who passed the written exam appeared for the oral interview between July 19 and July 22, 2024, at the Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management in Pune.
However, during the oral interview process, some candidates who had failed the written exam challenged the selection process in the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court by filing Petition No. 7267/2024 on July 8, 2024. They alleged flaws in the selection procedure and sought to halt the recruitment process.
After a detailed initial hearing, the Aurangabad Bench of the High Court allowed the oral interviews to proceed through an order issued on July 18, 2024. However, the court instructed that the candidates’ written exam scores be submitted in a sealed envelope and directed the Sugar Commissionerate and Vaikunth Mehta Institute not to release the final results. The hearing of the petition was subsequently delayed due to various reasons.
The final hearing took place on January 20, 2025, before Justice Sanjay Mehare and Justice Shailesh Brahma. During the proceedings, both the petitioners and respondents presented strong arguments, citing past Supreme Court judgments related to similar selection processes.
On February 7, 2025, the High Court dismissed the petition challenging the selection process. Following this decision, the final results of the Managing Director panel examination were officially announced on February 10, 2025.
Speaking about this result, senior sugar industry expert P.G. Medhe, who also helped majority of selected candidates to prepare for this examination, said that I heartily congratulate all the 73 candidates who appeared in the interview. I especially want to congratulate the first 50 candidates, who are now ready to join the Managing Directors panel. The examination process which ran from 2022 to 2025 has now reached an important stage. Which has concluded with the announcement of the verdict of the court cases. The candidates who are successful in the examination will play an important role as Managing Directors in the cooperative sugar mills of the state. This will definitely benefit the sugar industry, which is currently facing various challenges.
